The Deathly Hallows is a serious and bittersweet book with a lot of heartache. I hated that we had to lose beloved characters. However, I did enjoy learning the backstories on Dumbledore and Snape. However, after realizing just how awful Snape behaved toward CHILDREN in this reread, I just can't buy him, anymore, as the hero adult Harry makes him out to be at the end of the book. He did a heroic thing, for whatever his own reasons were, but I feel that, especially in literature, the title of "Hero" is less about one deed and more about a person's character.

That being said, the comparison between Dumbledore and Snape made by this book is so very interesting. Both of them did some seriously regrettable things in their pasts. Both of them spent most of their lives trying to make up for them by doing heroic things. In many ways, the similarities between them are astonishing. Yet they are viewed by most people so very differently. Why? Were Dumbledore's actions any better or worse than Snape's, really? Were their talents? Were their results?

Or was it just they way they chose to show up, the way they chose to "be" with other people? Snape was mostly angry and bitter and cruel. Dumbledore was mostly gracious and kind. In the end, they may have both been on the same side, but the way they chose to be with other people made a big difference. Interesting life lesson, I think. ( )

I've been reading this aloud with my adult daughter (who has been very ill) and we finished it this afternoon. We are both mainly pleased with the outcome of the tale, with a few misgivings on minor plot points, and the usual quibbles over Rowling's tendency to repeat some phrase or other (and her editor's blind eye to such sloppiness). This time, for me, it was "Hermione screamed" that drove me bananas. The girl is quick witted, resourceful and brilliant; I don't believe she'd really have done all that screaming.

My daughter and I feel as though we're probably the last people on earth to finish reading this book, so I probably don't have to worry too much about spoilers, but still I will put the rest under a cut. It took Rowling way too long to get into the real action of this book, in my opinion. There was so much talking about what the trio was going to do, and aimless wandering about the countryside before they finally got down to business. I don't see what narrative purpose was served at all by killing Fred, so I object to that. And the epilogue was a tease: what are the survivors doing with their lives 19 years hence? And who is Headmaster now? What about Draco, has he reformed a bit? Who did he marry? AND BY GOD, I WAS RIGHT ABOUT SNAPE! ( )

How can Voldemort and his wicked forces have such power and yet be unable to destroy a mild-mannered and rather disorganized schoolboy? In a short story this discrepancy might be handled and also swiftly resolved in favor of one outcome or another, but over the course of seven full-length books the mystery, at least for this reader, loses its ability to compel, and in this culminating episode the enterprise actually becomes tedious. Is there really no Death Eater or dementor who is able to grasp the simple advantage of surprise?

Nowadays, the story of the boy and his author is as familiar as the Nativity. Harry Potter, the unloved orphan with the weird-ass scar, turns out to be not just a wizard but—for reasons he can barely recall—one of the most famous wizards in the whole wide wizarding world. And thanks to hundreds of millions of books bought, read and loved, J.K. Rowling, once dowdy and grouchy and broke, is now as prettily patrician as a Redgrave sister, and richer than the royals.

With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling has created a lovely conclusion to her astonishing seven-book series. Ironically, amid all the hysteria and hoopla, the rumors, the leaks, the overheated theories, Hallows provides a calm ending to a global sensation that has made millions of children and adults happy.

That's about the only spoiler I'm willing to reveal about the final chapter in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," Book 7 and the close of J.K. Rowling's wonderfully entertaining series. If the review seems a little vague as a result, well, tough. I'm not ruining this for fans who have waited 10 years to learn the outcome of the final showdown between the Boy Who Lived and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and wanted to savor the last time they would ever pick up a new "Harry Potter" book.

'Is Little Nell dead?" rose the cry along America's wharves in 1841, from readers awaiting the last installment of Charles Dickens's "The Old Curiosity Shop." Perhaps not since the fate of Little Nell hung in the balance has a book been as hotly awaited as "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and last in J.K. Rowling's series.

All great writers are wizards. Considering the mass Harrysteria of the last few days, who would have been surprised if they had logged on to YouTube at 12.01 a.m. Saturday and seen J.K. Rowling pronounce a curse -- "Mutatio libri!" -- that would magically change the final pages of her book and foil the overeager reviewers and Web spoilsports who revealed its surprise ending?

Potter fans, relax—this review packs no spoilers. Instead, we’re taking advantage of our public platform to praise Rowling for the excellence of her plotting. We can’t think of anyone else who has sustained such an intricate, endlessly inventive plot over seven thick volumes and so constantly surprised us with twists, well-laid traps and Purloined Letter–style tricks. Hallows continues the tradition, both with sly feats of legerdemain and with several altogether new, unexpected elements. Perhaps some of the surprises in Hallows don’t have quite the punch as those of earlier books, but that may be because of the thoroughness and consistency with which Rowling has created her magical universe, and because we’ve so raptly absorbed its rules.

Everyone knows that the Harry Potter books have been getting darker. With an introductory epigraph from Aeschylus's The Libation Bearers ("Oh, the torment bred in the race/the grinding scream of death") there is no doubt that the seventh and last volume in the sequence will face us with darkness visible.

We all know what's going to happen in this book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, supposedly the final episode in the Harry Potter series. This is the long-awaited final showdown between Harry Potter and his arch-enemy, the Dark Lord, You-Know-Who, Voldemort.

And yet, when I picked it up, and felt its sheer heft, and looked at the familiar, gorgeous jacket, I felt a curious combination of excitement and regret. I'd been waiting for this moment for so long — years, in fact, all the years since I first finished Book One — and yet I almost didn't want the experience to be over, didn't want to know the outcome. Once I opened the book, though, and fastened my eyes on the familiar, beloved type of the first page, it was as if I'd been Imperiused. I literally couldn't stop reading.

Ask someone what the Harry Potter series is about, and they'll probably answer, "a boy wizard." But in mulling over J.K. Rowling's innovative melding of children's fantasy fiction with old-fashioned boarding school stories, I've concluded that the boarding school element has the edge. Much as we may love Harry, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid and Dumbledore, don't we all love Hogwarts just a little bit more? (Or, let me put it this way: Given the choice between meeting any one of Rowling's characters and getting to attend the celebrated school of witchcraft and wizardry, which do you think most readers would pick?) So brace yourselves, fans: Hardly any of the latest and last book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," takes place at the school.

So, here it is at last: The final confrontation between Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, the “symbol of hope” for both the Wizard and Muggle worlds, and Lord Voldemort, He Who Must Not Be Named, the nefarious leader of the Death Eaters and would-be ruler of all. Good versus Evil. Love versus Hate. The Seeker versus the Dark Lord.

Rowling fulfills the promise of earlier volumes, tying up loose threads, deepening character complexities to match Harry’s evolving recognition of life’s shades of gray, pulling out every emotional stop, and leading her hero into adulthood while still producing the most focused plot line and layered, heart-in-throat climax of the series.

Oh the torment bred in the race,the grinding scream of death, and the stroke that hits the vein,the hemorrhage none can staunch, the grief,the curse no man can bear.But there is a cure in the house,and not outside it, no,not from others but from them, their bloody strife. We sing to you,dark gods beneath the earth.Now hear, you blissful powers underground —answer the call, send help.Bless the children, give them triumph now.

--Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers

Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present, that love and live in what is omnipresent. In this divine glass, they see face to face; and their converse is free, as well as pure. This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present because immortal.

--William Penn, More Fruits of Solitude

Dedication

The dedication of this book is split seven ways: To Neil, to Jessica, to David, to Kenzie, to Di, to Anne, and to you, if you have stuck with Harry until the very end.

First words

The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane.

Harry Potter cannot escape his fate. He and the Dark Lord Voldemort are destined to face each other in a duel – a duel that only one of them will survive. To even stand a chance, Harry must seek out and destroy Voldemort’s four remaining Horcruxes: the fragments of his soul that bind him to the mortal world. Professor Dumbledore, however, is gone, and in his place lies a myriad of rumours and unanswered questions. Unable to rely on anyone but Ron and Hermione, Harry embarks upon a journey that will push his courage, trust and magic skills to their limits in hopes of winning the duel.

Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart--such revelations, battles, and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no spoilers in our review--to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling's fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final adventure with Harry--bring plenty of tissues.

The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.

A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. The journey is hard, filled with events both tragic and triumphant, the battlefield littered with the bodies of the dearest and despised, but the final chapter is as brilliant and blinding as a phoenix's flame, and fans and skeptics alike will emerge from the confines of the story with full but heavy hearts, giddy and grateful for the experience. --Daphne Durham

Begin at the BeginningHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneHardcover Paperback Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHardcoverPaperback Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanHardcoverPaperback Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireHardcoverPaperback Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHardcoverPaperback Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceHardcoverPaperback Why We Love HarryFavorite Moments from the SeriesThere are plenty of reasons to love Rowling's wildly popular series--no doubt you have several dozen of your own. Our list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from the first five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill ten books!) and does not include any of the spectacular revelatory moments that would spoil the books for those (few) who have not read them. Enjoy.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone * Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him. * When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists. * Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards.* Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets * The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden. Harry discovers that even wizards have chores--gnomes must be grabbed (ignoring angry protests "Gerroff me! Gerroff me!"), swung about (to make them too dizzy to come back), and tossed out of the garden--this delightful scene highlights Rowling's clever and witty genius. * Harry's first experience with a Howler, sent to Ron by his mother. * The Dueling Club battle between Harry and Malfoy. Gilderoy Lockhart starts the Dueling Club to help students practice spells on each other, but he is not prepared for the intensity of the animosity between Harry and Draco. Since they are still young, their minibattle is innocent enough, including tickling and dancing charms.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban * Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'. * Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book. * Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children. * The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom. * Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire * Hermione's disgust at the reception for the veela (Bulgarian National Team Mascots) at the Quidditch World Cup. Rowling's fourth book addresses issues about growing up--the dynamic between the boys and girls at Hogwarts starts to change. Nowhere is this more plain than the hilarious scene in which magical cheerleaders nearly convince Harry and Ron to jump from the stands to impress them. * Viktor Krum's crush on Hermione--and Ron's objection to it. * Malfoy's "Potter Stinks" badge. * Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W., the intolerant bigotry of the Death Eaters, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament. Add in the changing dynamics between girls and boys at Hogwarts, and suddenly Rowling's fourth book has a weight and seriousness not as present in early books in the series. Candy and tickle spells are left behind as the students tackle darker, more serious issues and take on larger responsibilities, including the knowledge of illegal curses.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

* Harry's outburst to his friends at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. A combination of frustration over being kept in the dark and fear that he will be expelled fuels much of Harry's anger, and it all comes out at once, directly aimed at Ron and Hermione. Rowling perfectly portrays Harry's frustration at being too old to shirk responsibility, but too young to be accepted as part of the fight that he knows is coming. * Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge. Rowling shows her darker side, leading readers to believe that Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven for young wizards. Dolores represents a bureaucratic tyrant capable of real evil, and Harry is forced to endure their private battle of wills alone. * Harry and Cho's painfully awkward interactions. Rowling clearly remembers what it was like to be a teenager. * Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape. * Dumbledore's confession to Harry.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

* The introduction of the Horcrux. * Molly Weasley asking Arthur Weasley about his "dearest ambition." Rowling has always been great at revealing little intriguing bits about her characters at a time, and Arthur’s answer "to find out how airplanes stay up" reminds us about his obsession with Muggles.* Harry's private lessons with Dumbledore, and more time spent with the fascinating and dangerous pensieve, arguably one of Rowling’s most ingenious inventions.* Fred and George Weasley’s Joke Shop, and the slogan: "Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You Should Be Worrying About U-NO-POO--the Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation!"* Luna's Quidditch commentary. Rowling created scores of Luna Lovegood fans with hilarious and bizarre commentary from the most unlikely Quidditch commentator.* The effects of Felix Felicis.

Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: A Conversation with J.K. Rowling

"I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. I’m sure that I will always be a writer. It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers." --J.K. Rowling

Find out more about Harry's creator in our exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.

Did You Know?The Little White Horse was J.K. Rowling's favorite book as a child. Jane Austen is Rowling's favorite author. Roddy Doyle is Rowling's favorite living writer.

A Few Words from Mary GrandPré

"When I illustrate a cover or a book, I draw upon what the author tells me; that's how I see my responsibility as an illustrator. J.K. Rowling is very descriptive in her writing--she gives an illustrator a lot to work with. Each story is packed full of rich visual descriptions of the atmosphere, the mood, the setting, and all the different creatures and people. She makes it easy for me. The images just develop as I sketch and retrace until it feels right and matches her vision." Check out more Harry Potter art from illustrator Mary GrandPré.

Burdened with the dark, dangerous, and seemingly impossible task of locating and destroying Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes, Harry, feeling alone and uncertain about his future, struggles to find the inner strength he needs to follow the path set out before him.… (more)